If they’re free, you might as well take advantage.
The Helias Lady Crusaders were 14-of-16 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter Thursday night on their way to a 49-38 victory against the Hickman Kewpies in Central Missouri Activities Conference action at Rackers Fieldhouse.
“I know it sounds elementary, but it’s so important get to the free-throw line where nobody is guarding you,” Helias coach Garrett Wiggans said.
Ella Rogers hit a pair of 3-pointers late in the third quarter to give the Kewpies a 27-26 advantage heading into the final eight minutes.
Adalyn Koelling then gave the Lady Crusaders the lead for good on an up-and-under layup with 6:25 remaining to make it 30-29. That was the start of a 6-0 run for the Lady Crusaders.
A 3-pointer by Hickman’s Ashtyn Klusmeyer with 4:55 left pulled the Kewpies to within two at 34-32. Helias pushed its lead back to five at 39-34 with two minutes remaining on a jumper by Claire Manns.
Helias’ final 10 points all came at the line as Hickman was forced to foul as time ticked off the clock.
Manns went 4-for-4 on two trips to the stripe to make it 43-35. Mikah Edwards then hit a pair with 1:04 left to push Helias’ advantage to double digits at 45-35. After a 3-pointer by Sophia Elfrink got Hickman within seven with :42 remaining, Gabrielle Bax closed out the scoring by hitting four free throws in the final :33.3.
“GB, Adalyn, Mikah, Claire, those are high-percentage shooters from the line,” Wiggans said. “If we get them to the line, chances are they are going to make them.”
The Lady Crusaders stress free throws in practice. Not makes, but misses.
“It’s not how many they have to make, it’s how many they’re allowed to miss as a team,” Wiggans said. “If they miss too many, they run. Maybe that sunk in and helped us tonight.”
The Lady Crusaders did a good job of taking care of the basketball late. They didn’t commit a turnover in the fourth quarter.
“I might have to buy the girls donuts for that, that’s probably donut-worthy,” Wiggans said. “To go an entire quarter without a turnover, that’s huge.”
The game started with an up-and-down the court pace. The opening quarter ended with Hickman holding a 7-5 lead.
“In the first two minutes, I can tell where our energy is at and it was where it needed to be,” Wiggans said. “Every one of our girls was locked in from the start.”
Koelling then scored six straight points for the Lady Crusaders early in the second quarter to give Helias a 12-7 lead. The Lady Crusaders took a 17-15 lead into halftime.
A jumper by Koelling gave Helias a 26-21 advantage with 3:10 to go in the third quarter before Rogers hit her two 3s to give Hickman the one-point lead going to the fourth quarter.
Hickman came into the contest averaging 60.3 points per game. The 38 points is its lowest total in a game this season.
“Our defense has been really good, attribute that to coach (Chris) Wyrick,” Wiggans said. “He gets it done at practice, we stress the importance of defense.
“If you can hold a smoking-good Hickman team to just 38, you’re doing something right.”
Klusmeyer led Hickman (11-2 overall, 2-1 CMAC) with 10 points.
Koelling finished with 19 points and seven rebounds. Manns added 10 points, all in the fourth quarter. Ava Morris led Helias with nine rebounds as the Lady Crusaders finished with a 41-29 edge on the boards.
It’s the seventh straight win for Helias (13-5, 2-0).
“I don’t know if the front-loading of the schedule and with the tough tournaments has helped us, but right now, it sure looks like it has,” Wiggans said.
Helias is scheduled to play Saturday at Boonville. The JV game is slated to start at 1 p.m., followed by the varsity contest around 2:30 p.m.
In Thursday night’s JV game, Helias defeated Hickman 58-25. Abby Verslues paced the Lady Crusaders with 18 points, while Lauren Verslues added 13.